So now that airlines are charging for all bags you check, most people are bringing a big bag on the plane. So most likely if you are seated at the back of the plane by the time you get on board someone will be telling you that they will need to take your bag and check it for you.

This is what happened to us last night in NYC, and after spending 2-3 full minutes of explaining how important these bags were to us and how important this trip was to us, he hand wrote information on a tag he placed on the luggage. I asked him to make sure it was all ok and that the bad would end up in Reno since we had a connection in San Francisco, and he assured us again that yes it would. We asked him one more time to make sure it was right, and he said yes.

He sent the bags to Fresno, CA, because that's what he wrote on the tags.

We have no idea where they are and United Airlines can't give us any information, but apparently they have up to 5 days to find them.

So the moral of the story is, cave in and pay the extra $25 to check your bags or your trip might be ruined.